AnimeRage Awards 2011 more like :/ (or AnimeFail Awards if I feel like being a troll)

Azumanga is the show that proved that 4koma could be hugely popular, however, I'm inclined to think that it was Lucky Star riding Haruhi's success that popularized the genre simply because I remember the genre really taking off afterwards.

To be honest, I can't say I've ever run into any "moe only" fans IRL or on non-anime message boards, much less aggressive ones. I did run into them on a few anime forums, but they struck me as similar to (to draw an analogy with computer gaming enthusiasts) the ATI fanboy on a computer forum who refers to those that argue with him as "nVidiots": out there somewhere, but certainly not someone I'm going to encounter if I call a LAN party this weekend. So I find your experience a bit surprising actually. If anything the opposite us true for me: I've seen stuff like Lucky Star and Macross Frontier ripped with a visceralness I simply have not seen applied to any other show on the local anime scene.

Kyou x Kotomi OTP FTW.

Well, I'd be the first to admit the "rippings" came from a fairly small group. However, I do think it's safe to say that a) discussion of moe shows was seen as a "keep it to the sidelines" thing within the club and b) being a moe fan tended to lower your position within the club hierarchy.

Hmmm... I tend to dislike open lolicons but I think I've met one in total, he wasn't that open about it, and I've also had some bad encounters with their opponents over the years. Most memorable, in large part because I was so new to the club at the time, was striking up a casual conversation on Moon Phase (which my club was showing at the time and which has a bit of lolicon subtext) with the wrong person and getting an earful. This was not "I find this subtext a bit squick" kind of stuff (which I think is perfectly valid and proportional with what's actually in the show), we're talking visceral, "end of conversation" stuff here.

(And as with the hierarchy - I don't get this problem in casual groups. The response I got to screening Moon Phase for a more casual club a couple years back was overwhelmingly positive.

K-On and its characters strike me as icons for moe fans, eastern or western. I do think the show has its merits (particularly season two), but in the end I think it sold to otaku because its fashionable among otaku. That status doesn't emerged from a vacuum, it emerges from a subculture. Maybe social isn't quite the right term here, but I'm pretty sure that K-On isn't quite the same show for people within the moe subculture as outside it because that's the subculture that embraces the iconography of the show.

I've been horribly strapped for time as of late so I'm not in the best position to comment on anything. However from what little I've seen Rinne no Lagrange is shaping up to be mindless fun, Mouretsu Pirates is getting the pick for something unique, and Another is P.A. Works shot at horror.

But even if Lesnar were to push the streak to 20-0, how exactly is that supposed to satisfy the older fans who are aware of the history between the two? Taker wins but as far as the storyline is concerned it would be him defeating some guy returning, not the two settling past problems. And at this point Kane might be the only option because IIRC he won their last feud while it would need an even faster moving storyline for Lesnar fighting Taker to become believable.

You bring up a good point on who the intended audience is for Book and Nash's return and Jericho's old gimmick, but Masked Kane is a relic himself. And honestly the more I think about it the more I see him being his opponent, but I guess only time will tell.

I tend to buy with the specific intention of strongly supporting my A list. Particularly titles that I feel didn't get the sales they deserve, such as EF and Ikoku Meiro no Croisee (just waiting for licenses of Iriya no Sora and Kurenai...). Which actually means much of the stuff that does get very prominent limited editions doesn't fit the bill - I like Madoka and Haruhi, but they aren't series I'm particularly inclined to go out of my way to support.

The NIS $50 per cour price point generally makes sense to me for the kind of purchases I make, at least for one cour. It's a bit high for two cour shows. (Conversely, Sentai's $36 per volume for EF makes more sense to me because EF is two cour.)

Returning to a few of the previous topics (still too busy to answer them all):
-While I consider Azumanga one of the greats of the moe genre, I can't help but chalk it's popularity with many who otherwise dislike moe up to the fact a lot of people encountered it before knowing what moe was.
-Minami-Ke isn't nearly as much a moe title as some others.


As to moe fans, most of the ones I've meet come across as fairly well adjusted (and yes, I know I'm limiting this to ones who are actually social enough for me to have met them). I would assume, however, that most aren't inclined to talk about it much for the same reason I don't talk about it much:

1) Many of us see it as an acquired taste. It's not exactly easy to explain the appeal of EF or Clannad and I think many of us see it as a bit of a lost cause unless we see some signs of interest.
2) I'm well aware that a guy who openly goes with cutesy merchandise is going to be regarded as somewhat strange.
3) The attitude of some people I've met in the local scene frankly puts me off discussing my tastes around them (not just with them). I end up talking about such tastes more in casual fan groups than less causal ones, largely because of this.

Factionalization honestly strikes me as the logical outcome.

(I think I've mentioned it before, but there's certain moe shows were I consider the social aspect central to the appeal. K-On! Is a mild example. Something like Symphogear would be a very strong one: painful to watch alone, but a riot in the right group. And I think most of the people who I watch it with would agree with that assessment.)

I've always wondered a bit about the business model behind KnK and Fate/Zero is, honestly. Are there actually a lot of people who would pay R2 prices if only the releases had English subs? Seems to me like most of the potential buyers are people who would buy R2 anyway, so why bother producing such an edition?

As for Madoka, my thoughts on the Aniplex edition are:
1) price is too high
2) it also shouldn't necessarily be Sentai-release cheap
3) yes to multiple editions

The reasoning behind this is simple: the primary purpose of DVD and Bluray purchases IMO is to supporter the creators of stuff I like. So razor thin margins aren't really desirable. Having multiple editions is, because it gives me more options as to how much support I want to give.

Second, with rare exceptions building a DVD/bluray library actually is my preferred method of giving my anime collection a physical form - I'd chalk it up to something psychological about buying the anime itself rather than something related. It's an added bonus rather than my reason for buying, but I always appreciate good looking editions.

Turning Undertaker's last match into a revenge fight against Lesnar would end up breaking the fourth wall or kayfabe or whatever you call it. It wouldn't be Brock Lesnar VS The Undertaker; it would be Brock Edward Lesnar VS Mark William Calaway. Then there's the suspension of disbelief itself: IE, can the audience actually be made to believe that someone they knew who went to do real fighting come back to lose at a scripted event?

But yeah, we're stuck at this point...

That have quite of few celebrities in there. Drew Carey, Bob Uecker, and Refrigerator Perry in there as well. I don't know what the criteria is.

Anywhoo, here's my favorite part of the Rumble:

Sorry for bringing up Madoka to you. I just meant it as friendly ribbing really.

But don't worry, I won't bother you about it again. Hope you're enjoying Winter 2012.

Hate to butt in here but the Fate/Zero box set is not $180. From Rightstuf's price lists:
Fate/Zero part 1: $380 ($370 within the US)
Madoka Limited edition: $225 for all three
Madoka standard edition: $120 for all three

Neither pricing model is all that new. Fate/Zero follows the KnK model, Madoka is fairly similar to the model Bandai used for Haruhi's R1 a couple years back. I imagine the mimicry is intentional.

Both sets tend towards the high end of the market. Funimation is mid tier at around $53 for a relatively recent 12 episode bluray set like Spice and Wolf II. Sentai brings in the rear - I could order their brand new bluray release of EF: A Tale of Memories for $36.

NIS America is a special case - they sell their new releases are priced like Funimations, but while Funimation's releases are barebones affairs, the NIS editions include a full artbook plus artbox. IMO, they strike by far the best balance between price and packaging/extras in the R1 market.